Technical Assistance

Side Story #5: File Sharing

Felicity decides that, for someone who nearly died in a fire and experienced an explosion tonight, she's actually in pretty high spirits.  After a nice, long shower, her ears have stopped ringing, and she feels human again, wrapped snugly in a fuzzy towel.  She knows Barry is in the living room catching up on Doctor Who or Sherlock (she buys the seasons, and he borrows them), but for a moment she feels alone in the good way.  It's nice to be alone with her thoughts after that mess, to get everything right in her head before Barry starts demanding details.

She walks out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, and she has to stifle a high-pitched scream when she sees the Arrow standing there, leaning casually against the wall next to her window, as though he's supposed to be there.  He doesn't usually sneak in like a creeper, so she hopes he has a good reason.  Otherwise, that baseball bat near her bed is going to get a workout tonight—against the Arrow's skull.

To his credit, though, he turns his back to her as soon as he notices she isn't properly dressed.  "I didn't mean to scare you," he says quietly.  His tone is, well, almost strangled under the synthesizer and, for not the first time, she wishes she could see his expression to determine what's going through his mind.

Before she can respond, Barry calls from the living room, "Sherly?  Everything okay?"

Felicity panics a little, knowing the last thing she wants is for Barry to walk in on this scene.  "Yeah, everything's fine," she replies quickly, her voice a little off.  She hopes Barry won't notice.  "I just slipped in the puddle I apparently created in the bathroom.  I caught my balance, though—it just surprised me."

He murmurs his assent, and Felicity rounds on the big, green, bow-wielding elephant in the room.  "What the hell were you thinking?" she whisper-yells, trying not to disturb Barry again.  "It's more than a little stalker-ish for you to be standing here.  Explain now, please."

He sighs as if she's the frustrating one.  "Can we have this conversation after you're properly dressed?" is the only response she gets, frustration in his tone.  "I didn't come here to get a free show."

She knows he's lashing out a little because she surprised him, but the quip still offends her a little.  It's not like she asked him to come because she was trying to seduce him.  He showed up in her bedroom, after all.  Still, she gathers the clothes she needs as she replies.  "You should be so lucky," she retorts hotly.  "Only in your dreams, arrow boy."

She knows he's not going to let that go without a response, so she closes the conversation by shutting the bathroom door—locking it this time—and changing into her pajamas.  Knowing the Arrow will want to look at her arm, she's picked out a black tank top, and then a random pair of pajama pants, and she groans when she realizes they have Batman logos all over them.  Clearly superheroes are on her unconscious mind tonight.

But it upsets her because that arrogant asshole outside will think she has him on the brain.

Sighing and accepting her fate, she walks out of the bathroom to find the Arrow staring in her direction.  His eyes flick upward when he sees her, settling on her right arm as she plops down on her bed.  She waves him over tiredly, admitting defeat this time.  "Go ahead," she assures him, holding out her injured arm.  "Make sure that the paramedics did a decent job."

He chuckles at her reluctance, but slides into place next to her.  Felicity can feel the cool leather press against her leg, but his attention is only on her arm, his head tilted down to focus on the stitching.  The soft, supple leather of his gloves presses against her arm, but he's far more gentle than she expects from a vigilante.  "They did a good job," he allows finally, after a prolonged inspection.  In an instant, he's on his feet again, headed for her window.  "Goodnight, Felicity."